Would an office pet change how you viewed your workplace? If your cat or dog could be there with you, would you feel less stressed? According to research, the answer is yes!
Notably, office cats or dogs can give us a reason to take a break. Often, people volunteer to take the dog out for a walk or take a break to care for a cat. These breaks are essential, although corporate culture in the US often pushes us beyond reasonable human limits. That needs to change, but an office pet often offers a great reminder to take breaks. Always, they are a reminder to lighten up!
Likewise, bodega cats are so beloved they can draw customers to small businesses as they exude their feline charms.
Importantly, whether you have an office cat or dog, the psychological effect may be the same, according to behavioral psychologist Lotte Sikerman.
“They reduce stress and increase productivity, mainly because they interact with you of their own accord and, when they pop over to your work station, it’s a good reminder that you might need to take a break,” she said.
Of course, we’re talking about well-behaved office pets. And, some people don’t enjoy interacting with dogs or cats, so there are exceptions to the rule.
Cat on a Zoom call via YouTube
An Office Pet is Sure to Bring the Laughs
On the other hand, cats on the job can have unintentionally hilarious outcomes, like the cats crashing live TV below.
As we shared before, one cat, in purrticular named Betty, the Weather Cat became a huge star after interrupting Chief Meteorologist Jeff Lyons’s Evansville, Indiana weather reports.
“I picked her up, and the guys in the control room saw it and said, ‘Put her on TV,'” recalled Mr. Lyons, who has worked at the station for 32 years. “I fluffed her tail and flew her around. The rest is history.”
As you can imagine, people loved seeing Betty appear on their local news, but she also appeared in the New York Times and the Washington Post.Pretty soon, people from England, Australia, and Spain tuned in just to see Betty. On one report, over 220,000 people tuned in to see the new “Betty the Weather Cat Tracker” segment.
Her name is Betty and she's doing a terrific job https://t.co/xURPfSuZ2Q @Jeff14News
— Funny Or Die (@funnyordie) April 16, 2020
Below, see some hilarious office cats in the video by News Be Funny:
Research Shows an Office Pet Improves the Workday
On a more serious note, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) issued a report about office dogs. First, they measured saliva samples from employees of a North Carolina company with 550 employees. There, 20 to 30 dogs may be at the office every workday. (must be nice!)
Then, they compared the samples for employees who brought their dogs to work versus those who did not. As you would expect, stress hormone cortisol levels were lower for those with an office pet or interacting with an office dog. Then, they can be more efficient and productive.
“Dogs in the workplace can make a positive difference,” he said. “The differences in perceived stress between days the dog was present and absent were significant. The employees as a whole had higher job satisfaction than industry norms,” said VCU School of Business professor Randolph T. Barker.
Even better, here are some of the employee comments:
- “Pets in the workplace can be a great bonus for employee morale.”
- “Having dogs here is great stress relief.”
- “Dogs are positive; dogs increase coworker cooperation.”
See a video about Amazon’s Seattle canine culture below from WTHR:
Office Pets Facilitate Communication and Much More
According to the research, as stress went down, communication improved. Along with it, people’s sense of well-being and motivation were better. Also, when things get stressful, employees interacting with office pets gain perspective and feel less overwhelmed.
“Pet presence may serve as a low-cost, wellness intervention readily available to many organizations and may enhance organizational satisfaction and perceptions of support. Of course, it is important to have policies in place to ensure only friendly, clean and well-behaved pets are present in the workplace,” said Barker.
As you can see, cats seems to particularly love appearing on local weather reports.
Top: Greensboro Chief Meteorologist Tim Buckley with Boot Scoot, Bottom: Tampa Meteorologist Jason Adams and Ninja the Cat
Furthermore, as cortisol levels drop, people may produce more of the hormone oxytocin, leading to feelings of happiness and relaxation. That’s not to say that employers can expect office pets to solve a toxic workplace situation, but it would be a step most of us would love.
Las Vegas journalist Renee Summerour with cat Otis
Earning Trust and Flexibility
Recently, business leaders at a session called “Enabling Productivity and The Future of Remote Work” identified trust and flexibility as keys to reducing workplace friction and improving productivity. During the pandemic, they say feelings of connection and empathy are more essential than ever to avoid burnout.
Top: D.C. Meteorologist Lauryn Ricketts with Puppy the Cat, Bottom: Retired reporter Meredith Bentz and Ziggy the Cat
In this regard, we can see how office pets (or pets at home for remote workers) have added importance. For example, psychologists say that people with pets are perceived as friendlier and, thus, easier to trust. Certainly, pets put people at ease, which is why therapy pets are so important.
As we mentioned, office pets can encourage flexibility as employees volunteer to walk a dog or care for a cat. And, who doesn’t love an appearance by a home office pet during those frequently dreaded Zoom calls?
“They ‘re a great ice-breaker,” Spijkerman says of office pets.
Simply by doing what they do, pets interject light-heartedness and joy as we tackle our daily tasks. Therefore, the world could probably use many more office pets. Fortunately, there are shelters all over the country brimming with furry applicants for this important role!
Below, see a Tokyo IT company that has adopted nine abandoned cats from NipponNewsNet:
